"A Panther Crosses Over"

Chapter 2

This book is a work of fiction based on historical facts. Names, characters, places and organizations are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

Research materials which have been used to direct the narrative include: Cahokia—Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi by Timothy R. Pauketat; French Peoria and the Illinois Country 1673-1846 by Judith A. Franke; The Potawatomi Conquerors of Illinois by James Scott; The Illinois Nation Part I & II by James Scott; Illinois History by Lee Sultzman; Mascouten History by Lee Sultzman; Starved Rock State Park—A Pictorial Guide by Utica House Publishing Company; damn near every word Allan W. Eckert ever wrote and finally, Google.

This work is dedicated to Allan W. Eckert. He was a historian who could make original letters, diaries and document sing a story. He is also the man who first introduced me to the piece of history that is the story of the Northwest Territory’s and the clash of civilization which have not been so personified each by his own champion since Hector and Achilles.

A PANTHER CROSSES OVER

The American Trilogy: Book 1

by

Sam Foster

Part I

“The indigenous population is that people which so totally obliterated their predecessors as to leave no anthropological evidence of their existence.” —Unknown

Chapter 1

July 27, 1769

British Province of Quebec

            Salvation stood within sight.

            The lightning-struck elm had been massive, and even destroyed its solid black trunk extended 20 feet into the air in the center of the small meadow cleared by the fire. Nubs of the limbs made possible assent to the fire-burned opening he knew would be at the top. Not every man could climb it, but Pini could. Even they would not find him there. But he needed to lead them away first. And he needed to lead them away without making it obvious he wanted to be followed. Then he would circle back and hide in the safety of Mother Elm’s hollowed core.

Pini chose a green leafy branch to sweep his track. He expected them to see the knife cut where he took it. He was tired and they knew it, so they might expect such a mistake. He used a rawhide thong cut from his breeches to tie the branch to back of his belt and made certain that it dragged the ground behind his heels. Then he raced across the small meadow allowing the branch to cover his tracks. It did, but not well enough. Even if his footprints were not seen, the sweeping pattern of the branch would be too regular. They would know and follow. He was, at best, four hours ahead of the Ottawa. He’d have to find a way lose them, backtrack to the meadow and get up the elm before they arrived. He’d lost them before, though, and he could do it again.

            Once through the meadow, he turned off the animal track he’d been following and headed downhill. Without the track, his trailing branch caught on bushes and slowed him, but he needed to keep up the deception awhile longer to maintain the fiction that he was doing more than leading them away. They would follow, but slowly. Pini knew they would see a periodic leaf turned over, moist side up, or a snapped twig tugged off by the small branch he pulled. Pini continued downhill. He needed water, a stream, in which to hide his tracks. He did not know the country well this far east of the Mississippi, but a stream would be found if he just kept downhill.

In less than a quarter hour, Pini came to the bottom of the hill and there it was—a stream not three feet wide but flowing smoothly. He untied the branch from his belt and threw it. Had he wanted to make certain it was not seen he’d have carried it into the stream until some clump of brush appeared in which he could hide it. But he no longer cared. Once they got here, they would know he was running. And run Pini did. Right down the stream. He made no attempt to hide the mud his tracks kicked up in the water. They would know he was in the stream. What they would not know was where he got out. He would see to that.

            What Pini needed was a rock out-cropping coming straight up from the stream. He could climb rock and risk disturbing nothing. And it had to be on the east side of the stream so the one trace of his exit, water marks, would evaporate in the afternoon sun. In less than ten minutes of tramping downstream it came to him. He could not have asked for more. The granite out-cropping did not come up from the stream but extended out above it. The shelf hung at least six feet above the water, too high for most men to jump up and grab. Most men didn’t have the strength to pull themselves up and over such a height, but Pini could. However, he did not—at least not at this moment. He continued downstream for another ten minutes and then stirred up a large cloud of mud from the bottom and let the trace of it drift on down in the water. Only then did he race back upstream to the rock. A high leap and a strong pull and he was over the shelf. It was solid granite. Not a pebble to disturb to show any trace of his passage.

            For the first half mile he was very cautious of his trail. He did not disturb a blade of grass or a leaf, and he did not walk on any open dirt to leave a footprint. After that, Pini loped easily through the broken forest for an hour until he was again close to the small meadow created by the burning of Mother Elm. Even in death, she was his salvation. She would shelter him from those damn Ottawa and their allies.

            When he was within half a mile of the meadow, he became very cautious again. He did not want to take the risk that they might be such poor trackers as to miss the sign he’d left them. If they were, they would start to sweep the entire area looking for his track. He couldn’t risk them finding this track and running right up behind him. He wanted to reach the meadow at the exact spot he’d exited, and he did.

            There was no sign of them. Not a single track. They had not come yet, but would soon. He had to hurry now and hide before they arrived. Hurry, but make no mistake. Pini could do that. From here he would leave no footprint, no broken twig or disturbed leaf, nothing to show he had been here. As an extra precaution, he located a fallen branch to again sweep any track he may leave. He would walk backward, and on his toes, once he got to the meadow so if he did leave a track it would be mistaken for his earlier track in leaving. He would sweep gently now. Even the tracks of his sweeping could not show this time. It took a quarter hour to reach the elm. Now he needed to climb with ease and certainty. Mother Elm had burned two years ago, so there was very little loose bark or ash left, but he could not risk knocking any of it off to show sign of his climb. He studied Mother Elm and what footholds she offered that would not break off and leave debris at her feet. Once Pini had planned his climb he made it swiftly, easily, and with grace but without a single mark on Mother Elm or at her feet.

            Upon reaching her top, Pini eased up and over into the fire burned hole of Mother Elm’s core. The opening at the top was wide, but not as deep as he’d hoped. It was tight. He would have to point his toes down and wiggle his hips in deep to ensure concealment. It took effort to push in that far and he had to put his arms at his sides rather than over his head to ensure they didn’t show out the top. Now all he had to do was wait. They would be here soon. For the first time in the weeks they had been chasing him, he might now come to know how many there were. They would stop here to study the ground and then follow his poorly concealed trail. Then a longer wait until escape.

It was mid-afternoon. Pini would stay here the remainder of the afternoon and evening and well into the dark of night. Then he could be out and gone. Tonight’s quarter-moon would give just enough light for him to find his way to the Wabash River, but not enough light for the Ottawa to track him even if they came back. By morning he’d have covered the ground to the river. There he’d find a log to float downriver far enough they would never know where he got out. Then he could cross the country back to the Mississippi and work his way upstream to Cahokia. From there he could easily make it back to his Peoria. Pini would be saved.

* * * *

            The first voice Pini heard spoke with the accent of a Potawatomi.

“He’s not going around the meadow. He’s dragging a cut branch across his trail. How stupid does that young Illini think we are?”

            “He doesn’t. We’ve almost had him twice this week. He knows we’re good,” barked the guttural response, a tone Pini recognized as Ottawa. He knew this would be their leader. He had an urge to raise his head to get a look at the man, but Mother Elm held him so tight he feared he’d make a noise in pulling himself up the few inched needed to look.

            “Then why take the risk of cutting a branch?” the younger first voice asked.

            A new voice, Kickapoo by the accent, responded. “He’s tired. We’ve run him hard. He hasn’t had much food for weeks and still run faster than we. We’ll have him soon.”

            The thought of food made Pini’s stomach growl loud enough he feared for a moment his pursuers would hear.

            “Remember, don’t kill him. We’ll take him back and kill him slowly for the amusement of all,” commanded the Ottawa.

            And then another voice, also Potawatomi, on the other side of the meadow. “I’ve found his track. He’s running due east.”

            They left hurriedly, the group of at least the Ottawa he’d assumed to be their leader—it was after all an Ottawa he’d killed that brought them here—and one Kickapoo and two Potawatomi. Pini listened closely with some concern they’d find his back-trail. He could be trapped here if they did. But within fifteen minutes all sound was gone. He wished he’d been able to get a better count. He’d heard four voices. If there were more, they had not spoken. But they were gone. He could rest here now.

* * * *

            Voices woke him. His eyes opened wide with fear instantly. Why were they back? The sounds came straight toward him. His heart pounded and he felt the urgent need to urinate, a sensation he not felt since in first battle with the Winnebago in his twelfth summer. Why have I hidden here? Was it a mistake? Is Mother Elm a death trap? Should I have kept running?

            But the voices were not excited. They were the same voices but tired. And they came slowly. And when they entered the meadow they stopped. What were they doing? The sky was darkening above him. He could not do more than look up and there he could see a first star of evening.

            “Where could he have gone? Once he got into that creek there was no sign of him getting out. We scoured all of it from his entry until the water cleared. Like magic he was gone.”

            “Our young warrior is very good. We’d heard that about him, remember? That he was the best of his generation. Great skills but no sense. “

            And now a new voice. This one a Potawatomi as well. “Our warrior of great skills eluded us today. But we are many. He is one. We will find him. “

            “Uhh,” the guttural tone of the Ottawa voice again. “For now, we rest. Chatonis, gather wood enough for warmth through the night. Spotka, there were deer sign just downhill. Slip down to the stream and see if you can get us fresh meat for dinner. I’m tired of pemmican.”

            “Yes, Opawana,” came the response of one of the Potawatomi.

            So, I will spend the night with you, Mother Elm. Your breast presses me very hard but your protection sure. I will not leave you until the morning it seems. But uncomfortable as he was Pini smiled. He was safe and what a story to tell around the campfires. Pini, greatest warrior of his generation. Killed the Ottawa of such importance that his tribe sought to kill me, chased me for weeks and the many of them were unable to catch the one lone, great warrior, Pini. My fame to extend beyond the Illini Confederation.

            Fatigue and hunger again took Pini to fitful sleep but this time with those heroic thoughts filling his dreams.

* * * *

            The smell of cooking venison awoke him this time. His mouth watered and his stomach growled. He still had some jerky left, but he’d have to free his arms and force himself high enough to pull it from the pouch on his belt. In his sleep, she seemed to have gripped him even tighter. The effort to pull his arms free would be to great. It was a risk he would not take, even in the dark. One sound, one slip, and they would light Mother Elm on fire again and force him down. Hunger he could stand until breakfast. They would be gone with the light.

            “It was a hard shot downhill and almost in the dark. Good hunting, Spotka. “

            A muted grunt was the only response.

            And then the Ottawa leader, Opawana, spoke. “In the morning we leave our pursuit and go back.”

            “No!” was the response of a chorus of what sounded like close to a dozen voices.

            “Be still! It was my uncle who was killed. I command here.” There was silence and then he spoke again. “We have spent weeks acting as though we are hunting a lone wolf. But we are not. Oh, he runs alone and he outruns us. But he is fed by his pack. If Pini did not have the support, the food, the eyes and ears of the other Illini we’d have had him long ago. So, we will eliminate his pack and make him into a lone wolf. Then he will be ours.”

            “How?” asked a Potawatomi voice.

            “You all have wanted the Illini land for a long time. Is that not true?”

            There was a general muttering of agreement.

            “Then we Ottawa will give it to you. Tomorrow we head back to the main body. And when we are all together, we head for the Illini village at Mascouten Bay and eliminate it. After that, the Peoria and all of the other Illini septs. We eliminate all of his pack. Then the lone wolf will be easy to hunt.”

            There was a gentle murmuring. Opawana spoke into it. “It is a good land.” And then almost as an afterthought added, “Will Otussa agree with your plan?”

            The answer came as a growl from Opawana’s throat. “Otussa grieves for his father. But he listens to me. He will do as I . . . suggest.”

            There was no response of any sort. Pini could hear nothing below. He assumed it was stunned silence at the audacity of the Ottawa plan. Audacious as it was, the Ottawa had defied the British until their French allies abandoned them. Perhaps they could do it. He would have to run even harder now. His return was urgent. He must get to his people quickly. The Illini must prepare for the coming assault of the combined force of the Ottawa and all their rapacious neighbors.

* * * *

            The snap of a branch in the campfire awoke him before the sun. He was confused. Thirst, hunger, exertion and lack of sleep had addled his wits. The smell of the fire warming breakfast brought him back. The enemy would eat the remains of the deer, and he would remain hungry. He tried to yawn quietly to bring awakening air into his lungs, but his chest seemed unable to expand against the hardness of Mother Elm.

            But then his enemies would be gone soon and Pini could pull himself from her grip, climb down and run. Run hard. He would be the salvation of his people. Not just the greatest warrior of his generation but the greatest Illini warrior ever. His people saved by his wit and courage to stay in the enemy’s midst and the skill to remain undetected by them. He had to wait just one more hour.

            His pursuers left early, swiftly and almost silently. Now he could go back to action. Pini, pulled his arm up from alongside his body—or at least he tried to. The evening mist may have lubricated the trunk, for he seemed to have slid in deeper into Mother Elm during the night. Or maybe his arms had swollen. He could not even roll his shoulders now. But he had to. He must. He tried to push up with is feet to lift himself enough to create space to raise his shoulders and then his arms. But his toes were pointed down and his feet wedged in too tight to raise up his toes and push. His ankles wedged too tight to allow any lift at all. He tried wiggling but such motion as he could get seemed to just settle him deeper. He stopped and exhaled for a moment.

            Calm, Pini

            He took a deep breath and thought.

            My fingers have some room between my thighs and the tree.

            He straightened his fingers until he could dig nails on both hands into the softened wood of Mother Elm’s old burned core and pushed. He rolled his head back looked to the sky and pushed hard. Harder.

            Push, Pini. You can do this.

            And then he screamed as the nail on his right middle finger bent backward and came off.

            But his body didn’t move at all.

            The pain subsided and he pushed again against his ankles, with his bloodied fingers and even with the back of his head bore hard against Mother Elm. He pushed until he was wet with sweat. Still, he did not move. He remained wedged tight.

            The sun was on his head now, high overhead and hot. Sweat dripped off his brow and ran down his nose and onto his upper lip. It was salty but wet and he licked all he could get. Pini had not eaten since breakfast yesterday and not drunk since he left the stream. His efforts were wearing on even his great strength. He would rest and shepherd his strength. His next efforts would move him.

            The sun was gone from his head now. When he lifted his eyes, they were in shade. Now would be the moment of his release. He rolled his shoulders as high as he could get them; he put all the force of his legs on his wedged ankles; he pushed his fingers into her soft core and his head back against her tight canal. Now would be the moment of her release, of his rebirth. He pushed with all his strength, until he could push no more. But he did not budge. Mother Elm would not release him.

            It was cool when he awoke. He felt weak and tired. But he was not resigned. He could go another day or day and a half without water. Perhaps in that time it would rain and lubricate his passage. Or perhaps he would shrink a little, just a little, and be able to move up. Up just enough to raise his elbows and move his hands up and across his chest. If he could free his hands, he could reach the lips of her opening and pull himself out. But for now, a prayer.

            He said it aloud so she could hear him clearly. “Mother Elm, you have protected me. You have sheltered my life from my enemies. But now, Mother, it is time to free me, to give me back the life you have saved. Give it back, Mother, not just for me but for all of your people. Each moment you wait gives our enemies time to gather. I am their salvation, Mother. Free me. You must.” Perhaps if Mother Elm would not free him, Kitchesmanetoa would intervene and send rain to make it all smoother and free his way out of this passage. With that thought, he passed again into unconsciousness.

            The caw of the raven awakened him. It was close, very close. He raised his head and looked up. There the black beast was, sitting in the morning sun, on the lip of the opening looking down at him. Pini smiled. “You are Kitchesmanetoa’s messenger come to deliver me?” The raven tilted his head at an angle of interested inspection. And then he struck, his beak ripping Pini’s eye out of its socket.

            He screamed and threw his head down. It was his only protection.

            With a final caw the messenger bird flew away.

            Pini was trapped, not to be delivered, not to have his life renewed. Pini, greatest warrior of his generation, would die. But he would die with a last thought, not many men could live after death, but Pini could and would.

For as long as the Tamaroa and the Cahokia and the Peoria and the Kaskaskia and the Metchigamea and the Mascouten live, as long as the Illini confederation exists I will be remembered and my praises sung. Pini, assassin of Pontiac.

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